Common Writing Mistakes I Make

A short list of common writing mistakes that I fall prey to constantly and some thoughts on them. Cause it is good to tell the world what you suck. This is very cathartic. I think every writer should do it. Including people who write but are not 'writers.' Showing off your problems so you can improve and so on.

Whatever.

Here we go:

Using 'lied' instead of 'laid.'

I like how 'lied' sounds, but I suppose laid is more correct. Ugh. English.

Mis-ordering the syntax of sentences containing 'with' if the sentence has a bunch of descriptive subjects/objects.

I can't really give an example without confusing myself or embarrassing myself. Sometimes my sentences can get really gnarly and icky to read. If I get confused, I know I have to gut the particular sentence.

Accidentally using 'Earth' idioms and euphemisms.

I've been training myself pretty hard to avoid this mistake, but I fall into its trap occasionally. I have to get into the zone of Empirian dialect, which is pretty easy with dialogue and characters, but when doing 'dryer' narration I sometimes mess up.

Technically this isn't a 'common writing mistake,' but more of a sci-fi/fantasy writer's mistake. Or a sign of incompetence or lack of foresight/imagination on the authors part. For me it is always the earlier, because if I am anything it is most certainly filled with the latter. Speaking of 'latter'-

Latter vs later

I've been getting better at this. I listen to the word and make it sound different in my head to differentiate the two of them more clearly. See! I did the above correctly! I hope I did, anyway.

So yea. That is all of the common writing mistakes of mine I can list right now. My writing quality is pretty consistent and I've trained myself well to avoid the big traps.

As for spelling, because I feel like someone might think to wonder on how well I do for spelling, I suck at spelling some regular words, but I am very good at getting the spellings right for all my in-verse words, names, and Tyra Tarkush words. I do better with my made-up stuff than the regular English made-up fare. Not that surprising, considering my vaguely egocentric view on my work.

Speaking of work, I will get back to that. Thanks for reading.

🗓 29 Feb 2016

📁 Writing

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